A portfolio of academic, therapeutic practice and research work : including an investigation of counselling psychologists' experience of the role of body in the therapeutic encounter

This portfolio was submitted to the University of Surrey for the completion of the Doctorate (PsychO) in Psychotherapeutic and Counselling Psychology. It is comprised of three dossiers which reflect the academic, clinical and research work undertaken as part of this degree. The academic dossier consists of three essays. The first essay presents Freud's dream interpretation theory and Jung's dream theory and elaborates on the features of each theory respectively. The second essay describes Compassion Focus Therapy, its therapeutic benefits and challenges and some of its divergences from Cognitive Behavioural Therapy. Finally, the third essay provides an understanding of anorexia nervosa from an attachment perspective, offering some clinical implications for therapeutic work and discussing some of the challenges and benefits of using this theoretical framework in clinical practice. The therapeutic dossier provides a description of my clinical placements over the four years of training. Within this dossier there is also a 'final clinical paper' which gives an explicit account of my professional and personal development towards becoming a counselling psychologist. The research dossier contains a literature review and two research projects conducted during the four years of my training. The literature review explores the role of the body in psychotherapy. The first research report is a qualitative study that examines counselling psychologists' experience of the use of body in the therapeutic encounter. Finally, the second research report is a quantitative study that explores therapists' attachment styles and how they impact on their use of touch in clinical practice with adult clients. The research dossier concludes with a copy of the poster presentation delivered at the Annual Conference of the Division of Counselling Psychology in Cardiff, 2013